Does it strike you as odd that we have no party-like beach town in the state? (San Diego: houses, club)

[apple92680]

California is an interesting bird when these type of discussions come up. It's a state that's sharply divided by coastal multicultural liberals and inland conservatives who are largely Latino. It's an interesting dichotomy.

The coastal multicultural liberals aren't into "partying" as much after they leave college. They're more into conservation, museums, libraries, culinary fare, international travel, charity work, research, etc. These are what I call "the Patagonia People" due to heavy investment in that brand.

Meanwhile, the conservative Latin culture of the inland areas and Central Valley lends itself to want to party whenever the occasion arises....birthdays, quinceaneras, baptisms, graduations, weddings, funerals, or ...just when the mood strikes!

The Latino population values working hard, and they also value playing hard. They share these traits with the Dust Bowl migrant population of "Okies" who came to Southern California before them.

When you get away from the coasts and go inland to the heavily Latino central and eastern parts of the state, the culture changes to one that is open to partying. Go to Lake Isabella, Lake Don Pedro, Buena Vista Lake, Lake Kaweah, Pineflat Lake, Millerton Lake, Lake McClure and New Mellones Lake, and you will see where the "party" is at in California.

The Patagonia crowd usually don't go that far over unless they are making the trek to Yosemite or Tahoe.

[amokk]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The NorCal vibe tends to be anti-glam, anyway. It's more about getting out into nature, and enjoying nature as-is. IMO Santa Cruz's nicer, more mellow beaches are off of West Cliff Drive. But you're not going to find anything like what the OP mentioned, in California. Even in upscale beach towns like Carmel, the vibe is low-key. People go to the beach to get away from glitz, get away from anything resembling a city environment. I think I read there's a casino on one of the Catalina Islands...?

The casino is not a gambling casino.

https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/...talina-casino/

[Natural510]

The 2AM last call probably has a lot to do with that, plus Tijuana and Vegas are an easy drive for the weekend.

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Santa Cruz. The main beach is lined with hotels stretching a couple of blocks up the hill from the beach. It's a low-key type of place; it's not glitzy.

One thing about living in Santa Cruz, I could never stomach all the damn vampires.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by apple92680

California is an interesting bird when these type of discussions come up. It's a state that's sharply divided by coastal multicultural liberals and inland conservatives who are largely Latino. It's an interesting dichotomy.

The coastal multicultural liberals aren't into "partying" as much after they leave college. They're more into conservation, museums, libraries, culinary fare, international travel, charity work, research, etc. These are what I call "the Patagonia People" due to heavy investment in that brand.

Meanwhile, the conservative Latin culture of the inland areas and Central Valley lends itself to want to party whenever the occasion arises....birthdays, quinceaneras, baptisms, graduations, weddings, funerals, or ...just when the mood strikes!

The Latino population values working hard, and they also value playing hard. They share these traits with the Dust Bowl migrant population of "Okies" who came to Southern California before them.

When you get away from the coasts and go inland to the heavily Latino central and eastern parts of the state, the culture changes to one that is open to partying. Go to Lake Isabella, Lake Don Pedro, Buena Vista Lake, Lake Kaweah, Pineflat Lake, Millerton Lake, Lake McClure and New Mellones Lake, and you will see where the "party" is at in California.

The Patagonia crowd usually don't go that far over unless they are making the trek to Yosemite or Tahoe.

It's an interesting question when you turn it around, and ask why the Spanish and French rivieras don't have large swaths of state parks, nature reserves, and the like.

I must say, you lost me on the "inland conservatives who are largely Latino" part. I don't know what Latinos you're referring to. Many California-born or naturalized Latinos are known for voting Dem. The inland conservatives generally are the white farmers/ranchers and businessmen. Those used to be a significant presence in the coastal areas, too. Well, that's still true around Orange County, for example. Plenty of conservatives there. So I'm puzzled at your characterization of CA voting & demographic patterns. Maybe you're referring to the descendants of the earlier California landowners, under Spain/Mexico?

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by amokk

The casino is not a gambling casino.

https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/...talina-casino/

Fascinating! Thank you! Beautiful building!

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Pro1000

Excluding Las Vegas... How does this state, the 7th largest economy in the world, not have its own Ibiza(spain), Miami Beach, Mykonos(greece), Cancun, Monaco, Gold Coast, etc. type party [mod cut] getaway for a couple of days town? And not really in a negative way but just that nice, grand, sexy, fun getaway city/town that's in state and only a couple of hours away from any city north, south, or the central valley. I don't know maybe Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, or hell even San Diego could've become more than what they are today. I know some will say these towns are fine just how they are and I get that but this state is so buttoned up and low key conservative. The Bay Area has its personal charms as well as LA and you can give a nod to places like Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Hearst Castle, Mount Shasta and so forth

It does have nightlife districts in various areas along the coast. Pacific Beach in San Diego could be somewhat comparable although not really on the scale of any of those places listed. It was better when they used to allow alcohol on the beach, this one stretch of beach used to have a real party atmosphere.

but there's really nothing spectacular to see in our state. No Eiffle Tower, Christ the Redeemer, Statue of Liberty, Burj Khalifa, etc.

I would say the Golden Gate Bridge is comparable or just as spectacular as many of these monuments.

[MrJester]

So Napa Valley ain't partying because it's more like highbrow wine snobbery?

Isn't Santa Barbara a party town? At least the school is.

Other than that, the reason why California doesn't have as much of a beach party scene is because it's chilly at the coast here, unlike the warm water and warm summer nights of the Florida coast. Chilly water and chilly summer nights at the coast don't exactly put people on the mood for beach parties. And because...The whole state of Nevada was basically built to be the party destination of California, as the abysmal weekend traffic on the I-15 from SoCal to Vegas will tell you. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

[janellen]

Originally Posted by apple92680

California is an interesting bird when these type of discussions come up. It's a state that's sharply divided by coastal multicultural liberals and inland conservatives who are largely Latino. It's an interesting dichotomy.

The coastal multicultural liberals aren't into "partying" as much after they leave college. They're more into conservation, museums, libraries, culinary fare, international travel, charity work, research, etc. These are what I call "the Patagonia People" due to heavy investment in that brand.

Meanwhile, the conservative Latin culture of the inland areas and Central Valley lends itself to want to party whenever the occasion arises....birthdays, quinceaneras, baptisms, graduations, weddings, funerals, or ...just when the mood strikes!

The Latino population values working hard, and they also value playing hard. They share these traits with the Dust Bowl migrant population of "Okies" who came to Southern California before them.

When you get away from the coasts and go inland to the heavily Latino central and eastern parts of the state, the culture changes to one that is open to partying. Go to Lake Isabella, Lake Don Pedro, Buena Vista Lake, Lake Kaweah, Pineflat Lake, Millerton Lake, Lake McClure and New Mellones Lake, and you will see where the "party" is at in California.

The Patagonia crowd usually don't go that far over unless they are making the trek to Yosemite or Tahoe.

You are spot on here. The mariachi music starts on Friday and goes continuously until Sunday night. I can hear one band from my front porch and a different one from my back porch. The whooping and hollering tells me they're having a good time. It's all good. I could do without all the giant fireworks that went on for two months before and after July 4th.

[Harpaint]

This reminds me of a poster who asked why California didn't start building a bunch of high rise housing in Santa Monica and other desirable places in LA like they have back east so more people could move there. Gee, I wonder why.